1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to plated terminals and to a terminal connecting structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-294496 discloses first and second terminals to be connected by inserting a tab of the first terminal into a tube of the second terminal. A vertically displaceable resilient contact piece is provided in the tube of the second terminal, and a contact portion projects from the upper surface of the resilient contact piece.
The tab of the first terminal engages the contact portion of the resilient contact piece and moves toward the back while resiliently displacing the resilient contact piece. The terminals are connected properly when the tab reaches a specified position in the tube, and thus a resilient restoring force of the resilient contact piece holds the tab tightly between the contact portion and a wall surface of the tube.
Tin plating often is applied to surfaces of terminals for corrosion prevention and an improvement in connection reliability. However, tin plating is soft and is scraped off by the sliding contact of the tab and the contact portion. The scraped-off tin plating is pushed by the tab and accumulates at a front end with respect to an inserting direction of the tab. The accumulated tin plating needs to be pushed aside when the tab reaches the vicinity of the top of the contact portion so that the tab can be inserted further toward the back. Therefore a larger insertion force is necessary. The insertion resistance of a multipolar connector is the sum of insertion resistances of the individual terminals and hence a considerable force can be required to connect a multipolar connector. This presents a problem of poor operability.
The invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to reduce an insertion resistance.